Carla
Barrett
Associate Professor, Sociology and Criminology Major Coordinator
Education
2007 PhD Sociology CUNY Graduate Center
2000 MA Sociology Graduate Faculty, The New School
1996 BA Liberal Arts The Evergreen State College
1993 AA Liberal Arts Seattle Central Community College
Bio
Carla’s early interests in the challenges faced by urban youth led her to investigate the ways in which urban young people encounter structures of social control, namely juvenile and criminal justice systems. Her early research focused on the criminal prosecution of adolescents in New York City. This lead to an exploration of the efficacy of Alternative to Incarceration programs and problem-solving courts. Carla continues to be interested in the ways youth are criminalized and the impact of criminal justice policies on court-involved youth. Carla is a fierce advocate for reform of criminal justice policies and practices, and for practices that help 'humanize' justice systems. Carla has always been interested in the "law in action" and in how court workers go about the day to day application of law within criminal court case processing and how they explain what they do.
From 2019-2026, Carla was Academic Director for John Jay's Prison-to-College Pipeline program (CUNY's only college in prison program), where she gained expertise on higher education in prison and the role of education in reenty.
She currently serves as Coordinator for the Criminology Major & Criminology Minor
Courses Taught
SOC 203 - Criminology
SOC 213 - Sociology of Race & Ethnic Relations
SOC 275 - Political Imprisonment
SOC 309 - Youth, Crime, and Justice
SOC 440 - Senior Seminar in Criminology
Professional Memberships
American Sociological Association (ASA)
Scholarly Work
Faratro, T. & Barrett, C. J. (forthcoming, 2027) “CUNY’S Evolving Role: Pathways to Higher Education in New York City for Students Impacted by the Criminal Legal System” in The Right to Know: Higher Education in New York Prisons, edited by Rachel Sander, Ragnhild Utheim, Eitan Freedenberg, and Lisa Jean Moore (NYU Press).
Barrett, C. J. (2018) “Doing Court Ethnography: How I Learned to Study the Law in Action” in Using Ethnography in Criminology, edited by Michael Maltz and Stephen Rice (Springer).
Barrett, C. J. & Welsh, M. (2018). Petty Crimes and Harassment: How Community Residents Understand Low-Level Enforcement in Three High-Crime Neighborhoods in New York City. Qualitative Sociology, 41(2). (Special Issue: Ethnographies of Security).
Barrett, C. J. (2017). Adjudicating “Broken Windows:” A Qualitative Inquiry of Misdemeanor Case Processing in the New York City Criminal Courts. Criminology, Criminal Justice, Law & Society, 18(2).
Barrett, C. J. (2017). Mindfulness and Rehabilitation: Teaching Yoga and Meditation to Young Men in an Alternative to Incarceration Program. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 61(15), 1719-1738. (first published online: February 22, 2016).
Barrett, C. J. (2015). “‘I Feel Mad Light’: Sharing Mindfulness–Based Strategies with Troubled Youth” in Alternative Offender Rehabilitation and Social Justice: Arts & Physical Engagement in Criminal Justice and Community Settings, edited by Janelle Joseph and Wesley Crichlow. Palgrave MacMillan.
Barrett, C. (Spring 2015). “Critical Teaching: Reflections on a Day of Teaching Precariously.” The Critical Criminologist, 5(23). (Newsletter of the Division on Critical Criminology, American Society of Criminology).
Barrett, C. J. (2013) Courting Kids: Inside an Experimental Youth Court. NYU Press, Alternative Criminology Series.
Honors and Awards
Teaching Award, Division on Critical Criminology & Social Justice, American Society of Criminology (2021)
Distinguished Teaching Prize, John Jay College (2017)
Research Summary
"Adjudicating 'Broken Windows:' A Qualitative Inquiry of Misdemeanor Case Processing in the New York City Criminal Courts" in Criminology, Criminal Justice, Law & Society, examined how court actors describe common practices in the day-to-day processing of misdemeanors. The qualitative data revealed the various factors that inform how court actors navigate the terrain of misdemeanor case processing and how they articulate “things that matter” in the face of massive caseloads, providing useful insights into the adjudication of mass misdemeanors
"Petty Crimes and Harrasssment: How Community Presidents Understand Low-Level Enforcement in Three High-Crime Neighborhoods in New York City" (co-authored with Megan Welsh) examined how residents of three high-crime communities in NYC understood “quality of life” policing tactics and their impacts on police-community relations. Focus groups were used to understand how residents expressed concerns related to low-level enforcement actions in their communities and the concomitant issues of the over-policing of young men of color, the under-policing of what residents understand to be the primary threats to their personal safety, and the perceived lack of police accountability.